


Just What is Going On Around Here

by ItsAlmostHere



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: 'eyes see pretty boy, (melia/me), (say it with me), But when he's in his element, Carlos does not view botany as a real science, Carlos is actually just a giant nerd, Cecil is v pretty, He swears like a sailor, I love him, I'm putting that out there right away, It'll be mostly canon faithful, It's Dumb, M/M, Melia is also an unapologetic cecilos shipper, Melia is an unapologetic self-insert, Okay so Carlos has a sister, SHIPPEERRRRRRRRSSSS, Unapologetic, also Melia is a botanist, also cecil is not subtle, also cute boys make him eloquent, and the narrator, as he puts it:, bc we are, he a nerd, her name is Melia, ie: science, is def gonna be fluffing it up even more, it's hilarious, like the rest of us, like. v pretty, mouth make pretty words', other than the obvious deviations, she sets the two of them up so many times, so that no one can out me later, they fight about this, this is all fluff, this is second hand fluff, y'all'll catch on to that p early
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2019-07-03 14:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15820782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsAlmostHere/pseuds/ItsAlmostHere
Summary: this entire chapter and half of the next one came to me in like one big lump in the shower. Make of it what you will





	1. Hello, Night Vale

**Author's Note:**

> this entire chapter and half of the next one came to me in like one big lump in the shower. Make of it what you will

“There’s so many people.”

“And?”

“How does a town this small have so many people? It doesn’t make sense.”

“The room is just small. Makes it look like there’s a lot of people.”

“I can’t do this! There’s too many people, and you know how I am with public speaking. Why is it so hot in here?”

“Oh, would you calm down? I’ll be with you at the podium, and it’s the desert! What’d you think it was gonna be? Cool and breezy, like home?”

“Well, no, but you’d think there’d be AC in the buildings, at least.”

I turned to my brother and put my hand on his shoulder. “There is, Carlos. There is.”

He brought his hands up to his head. “I can’t do this. Can’t you do this?”

“No! You have to talk to the town, if you’re gonna be investigating it. Relax, hermano, everything’ll be fine. Just focus on the science.”

“The science. Right.” He put his hands on his hips and took a deep breath. “The science.” 

* * *

“Hello, Night Vale!” Carlos said to the assembled townspeople.

The townspeople looked on in silence.

Carlos wilted a little, but plastered a smile onto his face nonetheless and carried on. “My name is Carlos, I am a scientist, and, um…” his voice faded out under the oppressing silence, and out of the corner of his mouth, he whispered to me, “I don’t know what to say.”

I replied, in like manner, “Tell them why you’re here.”

“Right! Your town is weird!” he announced proudly, spreading his arms.

 _Oh, boy_ , I thought to myself, closing my eyes for a second. The audience was not impressed, and even started muttering amongst themselves quietly. Just then, Carlos’ eyes locked on something - or, more likely, someone - in the back of the room, and he straightened.

“That is to say,” he continued, his voice stronger and clearer, “That according to numerous reports from varied sources, the city of Night Vale is by _far_  the most scientifically interesting community in the U.S.”

I began searching through the audience.

“There have been reported sightings of extraterrestrial presences, strange lights in the upper atmosphere and stratosphere, stories of ghosts spotted in the vicinity, and even something about angels that I heard not five minutes ago. Now, I don’t personally believe in the supernatural and the superstitious, and my personal belief is that there is always a scientific explanation for anything and everything. I’ve come to study just what is going on around here,” he flashed a smile to the crowd, “and hopefully to find that explanation, with the help of my highly trained and specialized team of brilliant scientists, for every strange or bizarre occurrence we come across.”

After finally giving up, I stepped in with some generic conclusion and dragged him off to the side of the room. “Alright, where is he?”

“Where is who?” Carlos asked, bewildered.

“The guy! Whatever guys was cute enough for you to rattle off a Nobel acceptance speech like _that_  off the top of your head.”

He nodded, turned and pointed out a man in the very back of the room, pretending to make notes in his little notepad and not-so-discreetly glancing over at us.

“Well, damn, chico, you sure know how to pick ‘em.”

The man Carlos had pointed out was tall, lean, and sharply dressed. He had a shock of pure white hair, feathered in places with purple, that stood out on his tanned skin. His face had an ageless quality to it, like Galadriel of Lórien, and his eyes - deep, rich, purple that sparkled in every shade from blue to pink depending on how the light hit them - held something ancient and wise in their depths, but still sparkled on the surface with youthful exuberance. His facial features were sharply defined, and the contour of his face seemed soft and slightly rounded, despite the sharp angle of his jawline.

In short, he was drop dead gorgeous.

“I know, I know,” Carlos said dejectedly, “he's out of my league.”

“Miles, bro! _Miles_  out of your league!”

“Yeah, well, I may never have a chance with him, but he got me through my speech, so if it works, it works, I guess.” He put his hands in his pockets, staring down at his shoes.

“Carlos.”

“No, I'm fine.”

“Carlos!”

“What?”

“He's heading this way.”

“ _What?!_ ” His head whipped up and he saw what I'd seen; the cute guy, walking steadily in our direction. “ _Ay_ , jodido dios _mio_ , mierde _cagada!_ ”

He wheeled around and went to stand by the wall, determinedly looking through some research notes he'd smuggled in in one of his pockets.

The guy approached me with a cautious smile. “Hello!”

I tried to keep a straight face, though inwardly I was floored - his voice was a _lot_ deeper than I'd expected, a smooth baritone that, had I been straight, would have made me swoon.

I snuck a glance at my brother. He looked like he was swooning, but trying to hide it.

“Hi!” I replied cheerily, smothering my laughter. “My name's Melia. I'm one of the scientists.”

“Cool!” The cute guy responded, nodding, then switched his notebook to his left hand and extended his right. “Cool, nice to meet you. I'm Cecil, I'm the local community radio host, and uhm…” he, too, snuck a glance at my brother, who had just about buried his face in the papers - _how is he holding that many papers_ , I wondered to myself - “I was wondering if, maybe, I could get your…” he pointed subtly at Carlos.

“Brother,” I supplied.

“Brother!” He took a breath. “Um, into the studio. For an interview.” He toyed with the notepad for a second, before coyly adding, “Or somethin’.”

I nearly choked. With a voice sounding strangled with repressed laughter, I turned to Carlos and parroted, “Or somethin’!” Then, pulling myself back together and turning back to Cecil, “Yeah. Definitely. Does Tuesday work for you?”

My brother appeared next to me, face the color of a bloody Mary, clutching my arm with a death grip. “Oh, n-no, Tuesday's no good, I, Tuesday I've got that,” he cleared his throat, “extremely important previous arrangement, in the afternoon, so, I, uh, can't-”

“Oh, right, I see.” I answered in mock disappointment, then, before Carlos could react, to Cecil, “So can you schedule him in for lunch on Tuesday? I know for a fact he's free, because he already promised to have lunch with me and,” to Carlos, “I am releasing you from your obligation.”

Cecil quickly jotted down the details in his little notepad. “Okay! Great! I'll…” he smiled shyly at Carlos, “see you Tuesday, I guess.” With that, he walked away.

I gave him a little wave, then turned to face my brother. “You're welcome.”

“What the _hell_ , Melia? What happened to 'Miles’?!”

“Hermanito,” I gave my brother a pat on the shoulder, “it would seem that you've moved up a league.”


	2. Tuesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos gets interviewed (or somethin'). Melia finds a new thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm shitty, I write real sporadically, here's some more shit, this will require much much patience,,

"You're coming in with me, right?"

"For the last time, hermano, yes. I'm coming in with you."

Carlos huffed quietly and continued pacing in the small reception area of the radio station. I put down my book and checked my watch. "Someone should be coming to get us in a few minutes. You ready?"

Before he got a chance to reply, an intern in a pair of headphones and a purple NVCR t-shirt poked her head out of the door marked 'Studios' and beckoned us in. I motioned to my brother to go first, then followed him into a long grey hallway, pockmarked with doors on either side. The intern pointed out one of the doors for us, then stepped through a different one a few paces off.

Carlos opened the door hesitantly. Over his shoulder, I could see the studio; there was a table in the middle of the room, with all manner of techy radio stuff on it that I couldn't even begin to name or make sense of, and three chairs. The wall to the left was occupied by a window to the control room, where the intern sat at the panel. A potted plant, up to around hip height, stood in the leftmost corner. The far corner, from a foot off the floor to a foot from the ceiling, was a huge window, displaying a breathtaking view of Night Vale.

Cecil was sitting in one of the chairs at the table, leaning back precariously, rapidly typing something into his phone. He looked up a second or two after the door opened, and, seeing Carlos step inside, his face lit up and he smiled brightly, stowing away his phone and straightening his chair. “Hi!” He said, cheerfully.

I leaned into the studio after my brother, and when Cecil's eyes landed on me, he faded slightly. “Oh, you're both here. That's, well, that's great! Let's-”

“Oh, no, no.” I broke in quickly, “I'm just here to drop off my bro. Have fun, you two!” I quickly shut the door before Carlos could respond, then trotted off, chuckling wickedly, to the control room.

The intern was arranging papers on the desk when I opened the door. "Am I allowed in here?"

"Oh!" She looked up upon hearing my voice. "Uh, sure, yeah. Come on in." She pulled a second chair from across the room and motioned for me to sit. I did, leaning my elbows onto the table, and waved cheerfully at Carlos, who was glaring at me through the glass. He looked away as Cecil asked him something, however, and I too switched my attention to the reporter. At first glance, I'd classed him as one of the many tens that my hopeless nerd of a baby brother didn't have a shadow of a chance with, but looking at him now… I suddenly wasn't sure. He was resting his chin on his hand, gazing at Carlos with rapt interest in whatever he was saying.

"Are you sure you want to be here?" The intern piped up as she flipped some switches, drawing my gaze, "Instead of being interviewed, that is. Not that I mind the company." She laughed.

I smiled, leaning back in my chair. "Oh, nah. I'm not much of a fame whore- not that my brother is either, to be fair, but Mr. Palmer seemed _much_  more interested in him than in me."

"Cecil," the intern quietly corrected me, as the _ON AIR_  sign above the window lit up, then giggled slightly at my raised eyebrow. "Sorry - everyone in town calls him Cecil, it's kind of weird to hear him called 'Mr. Palmer'. Too formal for him."

I nodded, eyebrow still raised. "Everyone in town?" I confirmed, slightly skeptical. Of course there was the Small Town where Everyone Knows Everyone effect, but Night Vale had over five thousand residents! There was no way everyone called the radio host by his first name.

"Well, everyone I've met," the intern replied, seemingly oblivious to my doubts, "obviously I've not met every single person, but to be honest, it feels like a fair assumption. He's just… Cecil, you know?"

I didn't. But I nodded anyway, deciding that this was not an important enough subject to pursue. "Oh, crap, I'm such an asshole. I never asked your name."

"Stacy," She held out a hand, "intern Stacy."

We shook hands. "I'm Melia, but you… probably already knew that, right?"

Stacy nodded, gesturing at Cecil through the glass. "He was pretty excited about the interview. And you know what," she turned her head to look at Carlos, "I get it."

I blinked. "Wh-" I followed her gaze to my brother. Nervous wreck, answering whatever question Cecil had just asked with way too many ten-dollar words, trying to pull his fingers through his matted hair. _No way_. "You mean… because he's interested in science?"

Stacy snorted. "Well, he is now." She snapped her fingers at Carlos, "And that's why." I stared at her, looked at my brother, then back at her. "You can't- possibly- _him?_  That guy?"

Not turning her gaze away from the biggest nerd in nerdom, she sighed dreamily, "Yeah. I mean, Cecil was so right. He's… Perfect." Just as she said the last word, something happened to her eyes - from where I sat, it looked like some sort of purple sheen ran over them, then just as quickly vanished.

I blinked. _More Night Vale weirdness?_  It could, of course, have just been a trick of the light, but the light hadn't changed. And I was a scientist, after all, so I decided to try and reproduce it.

"Could you- sorry, I must've zoned out, could you repeat that?"

The intern looked my way. "...He's perfect?" Nothing happened with her eyes this time.

"My brother, you mean?"

"Yeah." She nodded, like it was obvious. "I mean, look at him."

I looked. He was gesticulating excitedly, leading me to believe that Cecil had asked him some science-related question. "Mm. I don't know," I replied, carefully maintaining a casual demeanor, "I guess I'm just used to him, being his sister and all."

"I guess," Stacy agreed, albeit doubtfully, "But just _look_  at his _hair!_ " As soon as the word _hair_  passed her lips, that same purple sheen glimmered over her pupils, just for a second - but, knowing now to look for it, that was as long as I needed.

Something was definitely going on here.

* * *

"You're an asshole."

Carlos glared at me with a new vengeance as we regrouped back in the lobby and started walking back out to the car.

I waved my hand dismissively at the accusation. "You did fine. More importantly, I found us a new thing to look into!" I grinned, certain that he would be as excited as I was at the prospect.

"We already have plenty of things to look into. You know there's a house that isn't showing up on any of our radars? And also our seismometers are going insane? And those weird lights above the Arby's? And-"

"Yeah, fine, whatever," I snapped, slightly irked at his lack of enthusiasm, "We have time to get into those. My thing is cooler, _and_  it involves your boyfriend."

Carlos halted, turning bright red. "My what."

"Radio dude! Cecil? The guy that has the biggest, most obvious crush on you, and who, I'm pretty sure, has some form of mind-manipulation powers, or like, hypnosis, or something?" I couldn't stop the quasi-smug grin from spreading across my face. Carlos was obviously intrigued, as much as he was trying to hide it under his scowl.

Finally, after a minute-or-two-long staredown, he broke. "Oh, my god, fine. Tell me what happened."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope to have some more shit soon, but frankly don't get your hopes up...


End file.
